The Life and Times of Naruto Uzumaki
by STLHero
Summary: AU. Slow burn. FemNaru. When Naruto decided to become friends with Sasuke Uchiha, she never realised just how much trouble the bastard would bring to her. It was his damn fault his fangirls kept destroying her stuff. Despite all of this, Naruto didn't regret becoming his friend. As long as she had him by her side, Naruto knew she could face the world with a smile on her face.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke looked so pathetic and sad standing in front of the lake.

This was the first thought which run through Naruto's mind as she stared at her sullen-looking classmate, who just sat on the docks and stared out at the clear lake water. Ever since the deaths of the Uchiha Clan, her classmate has spent most of his evenings sitting on the docks and staring out at the pond as if waiting for some kind of answer to his problems to appear. Naruto had no doubt her classmate could stare at the pond for hours, just waiting and hoping for his problems to disappear.

He was in a stage of denial or so Iruka-sensei informed them a day before Sasuke came back to school. Naruto didn't know what denial meant, but she could guess it means he still wanted his family to be there with him. She could understand his feelings. Even though Naruto never met her family, she still longed to have meals with them and to complain about the unfairness of her teachers to them. She wanted to have them scold her whenever she pranked them, but like every orphan, Naruto came to the acceptance this wasn't ever going to happen to her.

In some sick, twisted way, Naruto was glad Sasuke lost his family because it meant she wasn't the only one in their class who didn't have any parents.

Naruto frowned when she saw the way the older boy had his back hunched and the way he kept clenching his hands into a fist as if he just waiting to give someone a good punch on the face. She twisted her body to walk away, but stopped mid step and looked back at her classmate. She felt her breath hitched when he fixed his black-eyes on her.

Her breath didn't hitch because he was looking at her. No, the reason why Naruto felt all the air leaving her lungs when Sasuke stared at her was because just how lifeless and lonely his eyes were. Until the death of his family, her classmate had a certain sparkle in his eyes that just annoyed the hell out of her. Her classmate's eyes used to shine and show even Naruto's own reflection, but now staring at him, Naruto could not even find herself in his eyes.

He wasn't even living life.

Naruto still stared at him even after Sasuke turned his head away from her. Looking closely, the blond-haired girl noticed just how much pain her classmate was in. All this time, she had been glad Sasuke lost his family because she thought she had someone to share the pain with. Maybe she really didn't have anyone to share the pain with. Her classmate had lost the people he knew and witnessed their deaths. Naruto clenched her hands into a fist as she remembered that most of her classmates' friends were from the same clan as him.

She should leave him alone, but Naruto couldn't find it in herself to leave from her spot. All she could do was stand there and watch as her classmate stare at the water. This wasn't right, Naruto thought, clenching her hands into a fist. He shouldn't just wallop in his sadness. It was fine for him to be sad. No one would blame him for being sad, but if he kept going like this then he would be just like a puppet, just doing as he was told.

This wasn't the way someone should live their life. He should be taking the comfort of the villagers, who were very willing to take care of the Last Uchiha. She licked her dried lips and twisted her body to walk away from the raven-haired boy. He had people who wanted to be there for him. She didn't have anyone who was willing to do anything for her. It was better for her to let him wallow in his misery. What was the point of her comforting someone who she didn't understand their pain?

 _Didn't you want someone to talk to you whenever you were feeling sad and lonely?_ A small voice in her mind whispered. Naruto nodded and glanced at Sasuke, who was still staring out at the lake. Maybe, she should talk to him and listen to his story. It was the least she could do and give her own advice from one orphan to another. Besides, didn't her classmate need a friend during his time of pain? If she was him, she would be leaning for any kind of support.

Naruto took a deep breath and twisted her body to face the direction of the lake. She was doing this because she knew being alone wasn't what her classmate needed. She was doing this because she knew he needed someone to talk to or at least needed a friend. The moment he thought she was here because she was like the other girls in their class was the moment she would leave him alone. If he acted like an ass then she was going to ignore it even if it was tempting to hit him for any insult given to her.

She took a seat beside Sasuke and stared out at the lake, where she could see her reflection staring right back at her.

"I don't know what the hell you're going through, but you should know you aren't the only one in this village who lost their family," Naruto said, drawing the black-haired boy's attention to her. She smiled brightly and stared up at the sky. "You're just one of the many orphans that this village has but unlike me and the others, you have the love and adoration of the villagers. They are willing to take care of you and do as you ask. Heck, even though you're acting like an ass, you're still the most popular kid in the whole Academy."

"Shut up, dobe."

"Make me," Naruto stuck out her tongue and looked up at the sky. "But they don't understand your pain. None of us do and to say we understand your loss isn't true. I don't understand what it is like to lose a family, but I do know it is painful to come back to an empty house."

"What do you know? You have never had a family before."

The blond-haired girl scowled at the reminder. "And what do you know of my pain, bastard? You had the chance to get to know your parents. You knew your parents loved you, and you were able to get hugs from them. I never had the chance to have that experience. Do you see me wallowing in misery? Look, I'm not telling you that you shouldn't mourn for your family or even be sad about it, but you shouldn't push people out of your life."

"Just leave me alone dobe."

"Nope," Sasuke blinked his eyes and Naruto smiled. "Why should I leave you alone when I know you're miserable? Do you think I'm going to sit here and follow your orders? Well if that is what you think of me then bastard, you don't even know me. I ain't going to sit here and do what you want. I'm not going to let you become some sad little boy. I'm not going to let you be friendless and even if you act like an asshole, it won't stop me."

Sasuke just stared at her and snorted, but Naruto could see a small hint of a smile creeping up on his face. They weren't friends, Naruto thought as she stared out at the lake, but if she continued to pester him and talk to him, then maybe just maybe they could become the best of friends.

* * *

 **Three weeks later.**

"Do you wanna play tag, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared up at the smiling blond-haired girl, scowled and returned to staring out at the lake. The blond-haired girl kept coming to his spot and kept asking to play games with him. If he didn't know Naruto was a girl who was focused on her career and could be stubborn when her mind was set on something, he would have thought the girl was his fangirl. Why else would the girl put so much effort to become his friend? He didn't want friends. He didn't need them.

"Hn."

"You know the more time I spend with you, the more I start to understand the Uchiha's secret language," Naruto declared, grinning at him. "Fine if you don't want to play tag, then what about ninja?"

"No."

"What about…"

"I don't want to play any games," Sasuke snapped. The blond-haired girl frowned, but nodded her head nonetheless at his words. Maybe she was finally going to leave him alone, he thought to himself, clenching his hands into a fist. He didn't want someone like her hanging around him. He didn't want any friendships. He needed to get stronger and being around the dead last of his class wasn't going to help him get stronger. She wouldn't be able to help him get his revenge.

"You know I sometimes wonder if I got my hair colour from my mother or father," Naruto said, drawing his attention back to her. The blond-haired girl didn't have her usual big smile on her face instead to Sasuke's discomfort, his classmate had a small sad smile on her face. "I sometimes wonder if my parents were ninjas or if they had been civilians, who had been unlucky to have been killed by the Kyuubi. I also wonder if my eye colour came from my mother or father. You know I would spend days in the orphanage, just trying to make up how I wanted my parents to look. I spent hours just drawing them on paper and then I'll break down because I realize there is no point of me drawing about people I didn't really know."

"Why the hell are you telling me this?"

"Cuz I feel like we should bond and if you're not willing to tell me anything about you then it is fine with me but I'm going to tell you everything that made me sad," he blinked his eyes at her. The blond-haired girl grinned and pumped her fist up in the air. "I finally got a reaction from you which isn't a scowl! I will remember this day for the rest of my life! Now where was I? Oh yeah, I will sometimes try to imagine what my parents would be like if they were alive. I wonder if they will scold me for my bad grades or if they would hug me and tell me everything will be alright. I sometimes wonder what it will be like to have a mother hug me."

"It's warm," Sasuke answered and he closed his eyes as he remembered the last hug his mother gave him. "It is so warm that you feel like you can let out of all your feelings to them. You can forget everything when she hugs you so tightly."

"You are so lucky you know what a mother's hug is like."

He blinked his eyes and stared at the blond-haired girl, who just gave him a smile. Sometimes, Sasuke forgot his classmate never had parents. For as long as he could remember, his classmate would smile and act as if nothing could bring her down. It was the one thing he used to admire about the girl, though he would rather be killed by Itachi then admit it to her.

"If you look at me with pity Sasuke, I'm going to punch you so hard that you will sleep for a whole week," she said, staring up at the sky. "What was your Mum like? I have only ever seen her whenever I was going to the playground. She looked like she was a kind lady. Now that I think about it, she was the only person who ever smiled at me."

 _"That's my_ best-friend's _daughter, Sasuke-_ kun _."_

Sasuke could distantly remember his mother saying this to him as she pointed to Naruto, who had been too busy staring at the other kids. He could remember seeing the sadness in his mother's eyes as she stared at the blond-haired girl, who stared at them before dismissing them. He remembered his mother smiling at the girl when she stared at them. He also remembered his mother's request:

 _"It would make me so happy if you become friends with her, Sasuke-_ kun _. Naru-chan doesn't have anyone who she could rely on and will need someone to lean on when things become hard for her. It will make me happy if you try to be there for her."_

The next day, his whole family was murdered and Sasuke forgot all about his mother's request. Would his mother understand why he didn't want to get close to Naruto? Would she forgive him if he just ignored Naruto and continue on his path? The memory of his mother's hopeful eyes flashed through his mind and Sasuke knew that no matter how much pain he was in, he couldn't disregard his dead mother's request.

"What game do you want to play?" He finally asked.

The blond-haired girl grinned. "Ninja! I never played it before, but it looks so fun!"

That was the start of Sasuke's friendship with Naruto.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

"Fight me, bastard!"

Sasuke looked up from the table and stared at the blond-haired girl, who had her arms folded against her chest as she scowled at him. Was this the fiftieth time this week she challenged him to a fight? He thought, scowling at his friend. Dimly, he could hear the other girls yelling at Naruto for challenging him to a fight as he stared right back at his friend. It had been three weeks since he agreed to become friends with the girl and nothing had really changed between them except, for the fact Naruto barging into his apartment.

"No...dead last."

"What did you call me?" Naruto yelled, leaning towards him with narrowed eyes.

"Are you deaf? I called you dead last, dobe," Sasuke answered, rolling his eyes at her. Naruto scowled and clenched her hands into a fist but didn't swing her fist at him like he thought she would do. He looked away from her and pulled out the rice balls from his bag. Why should he fight her during his lunchtime? It wasn't like they weren't going to fight after school.

"Leave Sasuke-kun alone, Ugly!" One of the girl yelled.

Sasuke blinked his eyes and fixed his eyes on the blond-haired girl, who slowly twisted her body around to look at the girl who dared to call her ugly. Why were girls so weird and blind? Sasuke wondered as he took a bite of his riceball. Naruto was a lot of things but even he had to admit his friend was a very pretty girl. Out of all the girls in their class, he could say without a doubt that Naruto was one of the prettiest girl in their class. It was something most of the boys in their class would admit but were just too terrified to say.

"Did you just call me ugly, Eri-chan," Naruto whispered, smiling tightly as she fixed her blue-eyes on the scowling girl. _If you are smart, you will lie and tell her no,_ Sasuke thought, swallowing down his food. If there was one fact everyone in their class knew without a doubt: it was that one should never insult Naruto's appearance or her dream. The girl would absolutely destroy anyone who would break those two rules either by punching them or by pranking them.

"I called you ugly!" Eri yelled. "If you think fighting with Sasuke-kun gets you closer to him then you're stupid! Sasuke-kun would never look at an ugly girl like you, isn't that right Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

 _Do you really think I would look at a girl like you? At least, Naruto tries her best to do well in school and is actually training hard to be a ninja,_ Sasuke thought, taking another bite of his food. Eri smiled in triumph while Naruto just shook her head at him, giving him a look that told him more then anything what she thought of his answer. It wasn't his fault he didn't voice his answer. It would take too much effort to tell the girl and if that wasn't enough, he knew Naruto could take care of herself.

As if to prove his point, the blond-haired girl stared darkly at the fangirl and said, "If I'm ugly then what does that makes you Eri-chan? At least, I don't spend so much of my time fixing my face, unlike a certain girl I know."

"I don't…"

"Too bad that you wasted so much money on things which won't help you in the future," Naruto continued, keeping a smile on her face. "When I become Hokage, you'll be the one crying because I become someone awesome while you are some boring person that everyone will forget."

"Like you will ever become Hokage!" Eri laughed and looked disdainfully at Naruto's orange shirt. "You're the deadlast, Uzumaki. The deadlast will never become Hokage and that is a fact. Sasuke-kun is more likely to become Hokage then you."

The blonde smiled and walked towards her classmate, who gulped and took a step back. Everyone in their class started to whisper and glanced at each other as Naruto stalked towards the girl, who dared to insult her dream. Sasuke put his hand on his chin and watched as his friend holstered the girl off the ground and whisper something to Eri's ear. He didn't know what Naruto said but from the way Eri's face was turning pale, his friend must have threatened her for the insult.

The girl did deserve to get threatened, Sasuke thought as Naruto walked back to her seat. She shouldn't have run her mouth and say things she didn't know anything about. Out of everyone in their class, Sasuke could honestly say that Naruto had the strongest desire to become Hokage and would do anything to get there. She was an idiot but she was a hard-working idiot, Sasuke thought, mentally shaking his head at Eri.

"I don't understand why almost every single girl in this class likes this bastard!" Naruto yelled once she went back to her seat. Her cries earned several nods from the other boys in their class. "He doesn't give you the time of day or anything. All the bastard does is brood so why the hell do you like him? What is so special about him?"

"Like a girl like you would understand our feelings!" Several girls snarled. "A tomboy like you would never understand the love we feel for Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke grimaced and stared at Naruto, who just stood there with her mouth opened so wide that Sasuke swore he could almost see flies going into her mouth. The blond-haired girl closed her mouth and just stared at their female classmates as if they were crazy. _They probably were crazy_ , Sasuke thought, curling his lips into a scowl. What do they know about love? They don't know him yet they claimed to love him. They believed they know how he thinks when in truth, they were everything he despised.

"Of course I don't understand love and I don't want to fall in love with a boy since they are icky," Sasuke snorted while the other guys just slumped their shoulders at her. The girls just stared at Naruto like she was a weirdo for saying those words. "Besides, I came here to become a kunoichi, not to fall in love with someone. If I'm going to fall in love then I will do it when I'm older!"

"Idiot, you can't choose when to fall in love," Sakura declared.

Naruto stared blankly at the pink-haired girl. "Why not? I don't feel anything for any of the guys except friendship and in the bastard's case, annoyance."

"Don't call Sasuke-kun bastard, Naruto," Sakura yelled. "And you can't choose when to fall in love because it just happens."

All the girls in the classroom nodded their head but Naruto just gave them a blank expression before glancing at him. He subtly shrugged his shoulder at her, which earned a scowl from the blond-haired girl. _There was no point of trying to explain it to Naruto_ , Sasuke thought, clasping his hands together as he stared at the blackboard. His friend wouldn't get Sakura's point because she doesn't like anyone in that sense. She was just too busy either pranking people or training to even try to figure out if she liked someone.

To be honest, he was the same as Naruto in that sense. If Naruto only cared about pranking people or becoming Hokage then all Sasuke cared about was either getting revenge or figuring out how to revive his clan.

* * *

"You gotta be kidding me, Bastard! It has barely been a day since I helped you clean the apartment and you somehow messed up my hard work" Naruto yelled, staring at the mess that was Sasuke's apartment. She glanced at the raven-haired boy and then back to the messy clothes scattered around the apartment's floor before finally looking back at him. The blond-haired girl wrinkled her nose when she saw bread crumbles on the floor and groaned when she realized there was a bad odour around the apartment.

"Not like I wanted to," Sasuke retorted as he dropped his bag on the floor. Naruto rubbed her forehead and stared up at the ceiling, wondering not for the first time how the older boy survived before she became his friend. Despite what all the fangirls believed, her best friend was not the tidy boy they believed he was. No, he was just as messy as any boy in their class but unlike the other boys, Sasuke actually took care of his appearance. "It just happens."

"Just happens my ass! I know you do this to annoy the hell out of me!" Naruto cried, picking up a pair of blue boxers. Sasuke grabbed the pair of boxers from her hands, threw it across the room before finally giving her a look that said she shouldn't touch his boxers. She scowled. It wasn't like she wanted to touch them but they were just staring at her. The boxers were just asking for her to pick it up and put it in a washing machine, where it could be washed properly. "At least, tell me you clean the clothes like I taught you and did you put your groceries like I told you to?"

Sasuke looked at her for a good couple of seconds before giving her a nod. He gestured towards the basket filled with clothes and then walked towards the fridge,where he opened it to display all his food to her. Naruto eyed him wearily before picking up the first shirt from the basket. She inspected closely before finally glancing at her friend, who was pulling out their homework from his bag. He eyed the shirt and then glanced at her, raising his eyebrows at her.

She looked at the shirt carefully and finally said, "you used too much detergent Sasuke!"

"How the hell do you know that?"

"It is damn obvious, Bastard," Naruto said, gesturing to the soapy residue on his shirt before glancing at the fridge, where the meat was not placed in the fridge drawers. "How many times did I tell you not to use too much detergent? And the meat is supposed to go in the drawer since it is colder! God, you're hopeless when it comes to housework but then again, you don't have any experience with it. What the hell was the Hokage thinking of just sending you to the fishes? Didn't he have someone teach you how to do housework before you lived by yourself? How would you survive if I haven't decided to help you as your friend?"

"You act like you are so amazing and yes Dobe, the Hokage had given me instructions on how to do the housework but I didn't think it will be this time-consuming," Sasuke said, snatching his shirt from her hands. "What about you? I help you with our homework and tests but you still haven't improved! Have you been reading over the stuff like I tell you to do?"

Letting out a nervous laugh, Naruto leaned back and forth before giving the older boy a nod. Sasuke slumped his shoulders, shook his head at her before making his way towards the kitchen. Naruto pouted and picked up one of the empty baskets from the ground. As she picked up her friend's clothes and putting it in the basket, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what the big deal was if she didn't finish reading over the notes Sasuke gave her.

What was the point of learning history when it would be of no use to her? What was the point of learning the theory behind a taijutsu move when she probably wouldn't ever need to know it? Seriously, what the hell was the use of them learning strategies? Naruto had no doubt she could do fine without learning the boring tactics Iruka-sensei tried to force them to learn.

"How do you expect to pass our test on Friday if you don't read over the notes I bothered to copy for you?" Sasuke ranted as he poured water into two plastic cups. Naruto mentally rolled her eyes at her friend's words. Well she was too busy planning pranks on the teachers, who told her to go outside of the class just because she talked to Kiba. It would have been fine if Kiba had gone out with her but no, their teacher decided it should just be her who faced this punishment. "You do realize…"

"You won't be able to reach your goal if you don't pass a simple test," Naruto finished, rolling her eyes at him. She dumped the pile of dirty clothes in front of the washing machine before continuing, "how the hell is history important in becoming a shinobi? It is boring and useless, Sasuke."

"I thought you wanted people to take you seriously," He retorted, folding his arms against his chest. "How do you expect people to take you seriously if you have the lowest grades in the Academy? The Hokage is supposed to be smart and you Naruto aren't smart."

"I'm street smart," she protested. "Unlike some people of our class, I know which streets to avoid and who to trust. I know all the ways into and out of the village since it's important for my pranks, after all, a good prankster shouldn't let themselves get easily catch. Also, I know how to talk to the people in the streets and how to blend in so I don't get robbed. Can you imagine Ami, Sakura or even Ino wearing my clothes in the streets? They won't survive a day in my shoes."

Sasuke stared at her for a good couple of seconds and let out a snort. "I would pay a lot of money to see them dress like you but Naruto, I doubt you would survive a day in their shoes. You would die."

"I would cry, whine and protest but I won't die," Naruto retorted, pressing down the numbers in the washing machine. "I mean it's easy to be like them. All I have to do is giggle, flutter my eyelashes at you and insult every other boy who challenges you...easy as pie."

"What about wearing skirts and doing your hair in a hairstyle that isn't a ponytail?" Sasuke asked, smirking at her.

Naruto scowled. "Skirts are a girl's enemy, Sasuke! How the hell am I supposed to run around in a skirt without worrying about someone staring at my panties? I don't know how the other girls do it! And I feel weird wearing one too. The Hokage tried to make me wear it once but I didn't feel like me."

"You would look like a weirdo if you wear a skirt," Sasuke admitted, smirking at her. Naruto grinned before making her way to the couch, where Sasuke's homework was laid on the table. It was time for her to study. This time she was really going to focus on what her friend had to say to her. If she passed this test then maybe, Sasuke would stop calling her an idiot. No, if she aced this test then she was going to plead for the bastard to teach her a jutsu.

It was only fair since she was helping him do the housework.

"Hey Sasuke, if I aced this test then you better teach me a jutsu."

Sasuke snorted. "If you pass Dobe, I will teach you the fireball jutsu."

 _Now this was some serious motivation_ , Naruto thought, curling her hands into a fist as she stared at the weapon, which would allow her to defeat her most hated enemy: paper test. If she could pass this stupid history test then she was going to learn the fireball jutsu. She never seen it before but she bet it was badass. She bet it would be enough for her to get an edge against everyone else.

"What the hell are we waiting for, Sasuke? Let's get this torture over and done with!" Sasuke snorted but the blonde could see a hint of a smile developing on her friend's face. He was never going to fully heal from the massacre, Naruto thought, staring at Sasuke. However, it was good to know her friend was able to give some form of a smile.

"Dobe, eyes on the notes," Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of her neck while Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "If you continue to act like this then there is no chance you'll pass Friday's test."

"I'm going to make you eat those words, Bastard."

With those words, Naruto grabbed hold of her textbook and started to read about the history of the First Hokage. She stared at the chapter for a good few minutes and blinked at the page, which had a small painting of the First Hokage. Taking a deep breath, she yanked on her ponytail before throwing the textbook to the wall.

Sasuke jumped up and stared at her like she was insane but the blond-haired girl slumped her shoulders and gestured at the textbook. He glanced at the book, then to her, before finally looking back at the book. He raised his eyebrows at her but the blond-haired girl just weakly shrugged her shoulders at him.

"Why?"

"I don't understand a damn thing," Naruto cried, jumping from her seat. "I get the basic facts but where the hell is Sunagakure? And what the hell did they mean by negotiation? This isn't a book for kids."

"Sunagakure is in Kaze no Kuni."

"Where's that?"

"Didn't you pay any attention to Iruka's lessons?"

"It's boring," Naruto explained, rolling her eyes as she picked up the textbook from the ground. Sasuke slapped his forehead, pinched his nose together before finally muttering under his breath about how much of an idiot she was. She scowled at him. "Well not everyone can be a good student like you, Sasuke! I always feel like sleeping during Iruka-sensei's lessons. I don't know why but there is something about the man's lessons, which makes me want to go to sleep."

"We've got a lot of work," Sasuke muttered before fixing his eyes on her. "Go to your apartment and get a change of clothes and a futon, you're not going to leave this place until you catch up on all the lessons that you slept through and actually memorize the textbook."

"B-But that could take all night! I need my sleep!"

"Do I look like I care, Dobe?" He retorted. "If you have only paid attention to Iruka's lessons then you wouldn't be in this situation."

Naruto scowled, opened her mouth but then closed it as she realized she couldn't think of a good comeback. Damn him, she thought, clenching her hands into a fist. There was no time for her to prepare for Eri's prank. She crossed her arms against her chest and stared at Sasuke, who gestured to the door. Was the fireball jutsu worth it? She thought to herself, fixing her eyes on Sasuke.

After much careful deliberation-she came to the conclusion that it was totally worth it.

* * *

 **Two days later**

"The test will take over an hour and no one should start answering the questions until I tell you," Iruka-sensei said as he handed out the test papers. Naruto nodded and snatched the test paper from her teacher as soon as he reached to her seat. She rubbed her hands together, muttered a small prayer before pulling out her lucky pencil from her pencil-case. This wasn't a test she could fail. If she failed this test then it meant those two sleepless nights had been useless. It also meant she couldn't learn Sasuke's cool jutsu. She wanted so badly to learn it.

Naruto eyed Iruka-sensei as he continued to hand out the test paper. She gave a subtle thumbs up to Sasuke when their teacher handed out his paper. The black-haired boy smirked and tilted his head at her, a signal which told her more then anything he trusted her to do well in the test. If she passed this test, no, if she aced this test then she was going to treat Sasuke to some ramen.

"Remember if I catch anyone of you cheating then you will do a much harder test," Iruka-sensei declared as he handed out the last test paper to Shikamaru. The blond-haired girl tensed at Iruka's words before finally relaxing her shoulder. "Remember to read the questions properly," he eyed her as he said this, "I wish all of you the best of luck: you may begin!"

Flipping over the page, Naruto began to skim read through the questions given to them. This wasn't bad, Naruto thought, circling the questions she thought were easy for her to answer. It looked a hell lot easier than all the other test papers, Iruka-sensei gave them. She felt her heart beat race as she realized there might be a chance she could actually pass this test.

The first question asked her about the very first treaty with Sunagakure, asking her to describe in detail the terms and conditions of the treaty and how it benefited the two villages. She remembered talking to Sasuke about it, arguing with him about how the treaty wasn't really a treaty when it really gave more benefits to their village. Sasuke had disagreed and said it had been fair to both sides. Now, what did Sasuke always told her to use? She had to use evidence if she wanted high marks for the essay bit.

Cracking her knuckles, Naruto started to scribble down everything she remembered from her study session with Sasuke. This time she was actually going to do well. She knew it from the way she wasn't panicking. She was certain because she had a gut feeling that she was going to do so much better in this test.

If there was one thing, she didn't doubt it was her feelings.

* * *

"I screwed it up didn't I?" Naruto cried as Sasuke and her walked towards the Academy gates. It had been one week since they did their test and Iruka-sensei still hadn't given them back their papers. The raven-haired boy raised his eyebrows and then shook his head at her. "Why the hell are you shaking your head at me? Not everyone can be like you and be confident they did well in a test! I always screw them up. I'm bad at paper tests."

"If you screw up again than I'm not helping you pass," Sasuke stated as they walked through the gates. Naruto slumped her shoulders and looked up at the sky in hopes God would give her a sign she did well in her test. The raven-haired boy shook his head. "But you might not have screwed it up this time."

"Do you really think so?" Sasuke nodded his head and the blond-haired girl grinned at his response. "You know Sasuke if you keep acting like this then I can safely say you're a bastard who can be nice when he wants to be. Now if only you can treat all your fangirls with the same treatment when you reject them."

"It wouldn't stop them," Naruto laughed but her laughter died down when she saw the serious expression on his face. "If you act nice then it will just fuel their idea that I liked them."

"Acting an ass makes them like you even more so either way they will still like you," Sasuke scowled at the reminder while she shrugged her shoulder, shook her head and stared at her friend. "You know when I think about it…"

"The world must be ending for you to think."

The blond-haired girl smacked Sasuke on the shoulder, earning a scowl from the older boy. "This is why you don't have many friends Sasuke," she declared as the two of them took their seats. "Anyways for your information, I do use my brain...I just don't use it as often as you. Now what was I saying? Oh yeah, when I think about it, you have gotten more popular with the girls ever since your family's death."

"What's the point?"

"Should there be a point? I'm just telling you what I just realized," she looked at the blackboard and then glanced at the door. "Maybe they're being weirdos and decide they like you even more now you've no family or maybe they think you deserve a lot more love now that you've no parents."

"Then shouldn't you get a lot more love and sympathy?"

"Sasuke...did you forget what Ami say to me a couple of weeks ago?" Naruto scowled and clenched her hands into a fist as she remembered the words spoken by her classmate. Sasuke shook his head. "Well she said I am so lucky to be an orphan since I could do whatever the hell I want. She also said I was an orphan because my parents left me since I was an ugly baby or was it because I was bad? Point was, she insulted me. No, to every single girl in this school I'm the enemy."

Naruto leaned against her seat and kept a smile fixed on her face as Sasuke stared at her. At first when people looked at her friend, they might think he was always brooding or at least very cold but after nearly a month of friendship, Naruto could safely say she could detect the subtle change of emotions in his eyes. It was why she knew her friend looked torn between comforting her or just offering her words of advice.

"If you think I'm sad about her words then I'm not," she looked up at the ceiling, "Why should I be sad about something which isn't true? The old man told me time in and time out, my parents loved me. Am I lucky to be an orphan? Only a person with parents would think like that. They don't know what we have lost. They don't know how lucky they are until they lose it. Besides, fighting back never works. No matter what I say, the teachers won't believe me."

"They should believe you."

 _'Why would they believe you when they always give you those cold eyes? Why would they ever take your side when they look at you as if you're a monster? No, you can't ever expect them to have your backs,'_ a small cold voice whispered in her mind. Naruto grimaced as she remembered more and more times when her teachers let her down. None of them believed her when she say the person started. No, they would always turn the other cheek and tell her that it was her fault.

She blinked her eyes when she caught sight of several fangirls crowding around her, who were all glaring at her.

"Naruto," Sakura hissed, clenching her hands into a fist. "That is my spot."

Naruto raised her eyebrows and then looked at her seat before shaking her head. "Then where's your name, Sakura-chan because I can't see your name written in this seat? Last time I checked, I was free to sit wherever I want."

The pink-haired girl opened her mouth but closed her mouth and took to her seat when Iruka walked into the room with a sack of papers in his hands. Naruto felt her heart raced as she realized those test papers were the same papers they did last week. Did she do well in this test? Was she going to be called a cheater by Iruka-sensei because she did well in a test? If she did pass this test- was Sasuke actually going to teach her the fireball jutsu like he promised? So many questions run through her mind but the answer to these questions was soon going to be answered.

Iruka gave all of them a smile as he dropped the sacks of test paper onto the table before placing his hands onto the table. Their teacher scanned the room but Naruto couldn't help but notice Iruka's eyes seemed to linger the most on her. She also didn't miss the way her teacher's eyes widened at the sight of her new seating spot but unlike the girls in her class, Iruka made no comment on it.

"I'm going to hand out your test scores," Iruka declared, picking up the first paper from the towering pile of test papers. He glanced at the test papers before looking back at all of them. "Some of you will be disappointed in your test scores while others will be happy about their score. I will admit when I marked your papers, a few of you surprised me with your score," Iruka's eyes lingered on her, "but I'm glad to those few that you have done well to prepare for the test. Now I'm going to call your name out according to alphabetic order."

Everyone nodded and shifted in their seats as Iruka began the process of calling out their names. Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous while she watched her classmates get their test papers. Would she be happy when she gets her results or would she be sad? Those were her main concerns when she saw her classmates' reactions to their results. She knew this test wasn't important but Naruto didn't want to lose the chance of using the jutsu.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The blond-haired girl perked up when she heard her friend's name being called out and gave a thumbs up to Sasuke as he left to get the paper. Her friend didn't bother to look at her but Naruto could see the corner of his lips lifting upwards. If Sasuke was smirking then she knew he had seen the thumbs up or so she liked to believe. She grinned when she caught sight of Sasuke's haughty smirk.

If Sasuke was smirking like that then he did well.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

She grinned when her name got mentioned and bolted out of her seat to get to the front. As she run to the front, Naruto could hear several of her classmates whispering to each other about how stupid she was to think she would do well in a test. She could hear them snickering at her when she finally reached the front. If Naruto was anyone else, she would cry but she was Uzumaki Naruto and she wasn't going to let them see their words hurt her.

When she become Hokage, she would be the one telling them that the deadlast they made fun of, was now the person who bossed them around.

"Naruto," the blond-haired girl looked up and stared at Iruka, who had a tight smile on his face as he handed out the test paper to her. She glanced at Sasuke and the raven-haired boy shrugged his shoulders at her. "You did very well in this test."

Naruto raised her eyebrows and looked down at the test paper. She felt her heart raced when she saw her score was seventy-five percent and felt teary-eyed when she saw the smile on the bottom of the test paper. The blond-haired girl grinned at Iruka, who blinked his eyes at her before finally giving her a soft smile. She gave him a thumbs up before rushing towards Sasuke, who blinked his eyes.

Without a second thought, the blond-haired girl launched herself at Sasuke. The older boy blinked his eyes and caught the blond-haired girl, who clung to his shoulders. If it weren't for the fact she was so happy, Naruto would never have done this to her friend. She knew he hated this type of things but this was the only way she knew to convey to him just how glad she was that he helped her.

"Naruto! Get off of Sasuke-kun!"

"Let go of him!"

If Naruto had known just how much trouble Sasuke and her would be in from just one simple action, she would have tried her hardest not to do it in public. Yet when Naruto looked back on it, she would safely say that day had been one of the happiest days of her life

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think so far of the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

Naruto curled her lips into a scowl as she listened to the other girls glared at her as they whispered to each other about her supposed crush on Sasuke. If she knew they would jump to conclusion about her and Sasuke then Naruto would have tried her hardest not to hug him. It was not worth having the ire and anger of her female classmates or having to deal with the supposed rumors she liked Sasuke. Seriously, why would she like Sasuke like that? Could a girl not hug a guy without it being romantic?

She sighed and shook her head as she took her seat beside Sasuke. The black-haired boy raised his eyebrow but the blond-haired girl just shrugged her shoulder and subtly jerked her head at the girls behind them. He scowled, earning a grin from Naruto.

"I don't understand what is the big deal of me hugging you." Naruto pulled out her books from her bag before continuing. "It doesn't mean I like you or anything. Hell, I would have hugged anyone who helped me passed the damn test! I would have even hugged Kiba and you know how much I don't like dog breath."

Sasuke snorted. "Didn't you tell me he's your friend? Don't you have any friends who will help you beside me?"

"I said he was my skipping buddy," Naruto corrected, taking out her pencil case. "If he's my buddy then he would hang out with me after school but, Kiba doesn't do that and it is the same with Shikamaru and Choji. I can't hang out with the other boys because their mothers always gives me weird looks. Their mothers always seem to act funny towards me. Out of everyone in this school, you're my best friend."

"What about Hyuga?" Naruto raised her eyebrow but the black-haired boy jerked his head towards the blue-haired girl sitting in the corner. The blue-eyed girl glanced at Hinata, who flushed red and looked away from her. "I thought you wanted to make friends with everyone here."

"I tried becoming friends with her but Hinata always seems to blush and faint whenever I'm near her," Naruto admitted, scratching her head. Sasuke snorted and glanced at Hinata but for some reason, her best-friend was scowling at the girl. The blond-haired girl lightly smacked the older boy before giving an apologetic look to the girl, who blushed an even harder red. "You shouldn't scowl at Hinata."

"She started it," Sasuke grumbled, folding his arms against his chest. "The girl doesn't look like it but she is scary."

The blonde raised her eyebrow and glanced at the blue-haired girl, who flushed a brighter red before ducking her head down. Naruto stared at her classmate for a good couple of seconds and then back at Sasuke, who just gave her a glare that said she shouldn't mention what he just said. She rolled her eyes and took another look at their classmate, waiting to see what Sasuke had seen that made him declare Hinata was scary.

"I think you're making it up," Naruto declared when the blue-haired girl turned her head away from her. "Hinata doesn't look scary at all. Maybe, you're just thinking like that because she doesn't bat her eyelashes at you."

"Idiot, if we went with your line of thinking then I should have been scared of you from the very beginning," Sasuke pointed out as more and more students flooded into their classroom. "You don't see it because you're you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means you're blind."

"How the hell am I blind, Bastard?" She yelled, jumping off of her seat. "I can see perfectly fine."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pinched his nose. "I'm not saying you're actually blind, idiot! I'm saying you're not paying attention to the reason why she doesn't show it to you."

"What the hell does that have to do with me being blind?"

"I knew you were an idiot but I didn't think you were this dumb," Sasuke muttered, rubbing his forehead. Naruto scowled and opened her mouth to argue with him but closed it when she saw several girls surrounding them. She felt her bones grow heavy as she realized every single girl who liked Sasuke was surrounding them. She thought she was going to be free from them! She thought she could go one day without them annoying her!

Why the hell did they decide to attack her now? And why must they always attack her when every single fangirl was present? It just made no sense.

"Naruto, don't think just because you hugged Sasuke-kun that you have won his affection," Naruto blinked her eyes at Ami and then stared at Sasuke, who looked away from her. "You aren't pretty enough to have his attention! And you act like a boy so there is no way he would like you! Everyone here agrees that the reason why you always cling to him is because you are so desperate to have his attention!"

 _I'm desperate? Who the hell are they calling desperate?_ Naruto thought, gawking at the purple-haired girl. She looked at Ino, Sakura and the others to confirm Ami's words and scowled when she saw every single girl nodded. They called her desperate? She could go one day without being in her friend's presence. She could go for hours without seeing him while her classmates stalked him. Kami, she didn't even know why her classmates liked a guy who barely paid any attention to them.

"I hugged the bastard because I was happy, not because I liked him in whatever way you guys are thinking," Naruto shook her head and shoved her hands into her pants pockets. "And why should I be pretty? Pretty isn't going to get me my dream. Being pretty is useless for the job I want. I'm not like you guys; I didn't come here to find my ideal boy. I want to be somebody important and being pretty won't get me there," she frowned, then looked at Sasuke and continued. "If you guys really like the bastard and if you really know who he is then you should know what type of girl he wants."

"What the hell are you saying, Naruto?" Sakura hissed, clenching her hands into a fist. "Are you saying we don't know anything about Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto stared straight into the pink-haired girl's eyes and answered. "I never said you don't know anything about the bastard but I'm just saying if you really know Sasuke like you claimed then you will know what you should do to get his attention. I don't know what you think about the bastard but I can tell you, you are never going to get his attention if you act like this."

 _Why don't I like the way they are staring at me? I feel like I just confirmed their crazy idea of me having a crush on Sasuke,_ Naruto thought, flickering her eyes at the black-haired boy. Sasuke pursed his lips and kept his eyes fixed on his textbook, but Naruto didn't miss the flicker of gratitude in her friend's eyes. He better be grateful because this was the last time she voiced out his feelings on this stupid topic.

"You think Sasuke will like a girl like you?"

"I think Sasuke won't like a girl like you." Naruto corrected, shrugging her shoulder. "Sasuke might like a girl like me for all I know but I know he doesn't girls like you. You guys keep bugging the hell out of him even after he lost his family. Do you guys not know when to leave a guy alone? He has been through hell and he doesn't need your bullshit to deal with."

All the girls stared at her like she just told them that aliens existed while Sasuke gave her a small nod, a sign which told her he appreciated her outburst. She snorted. The bastard may be blunt but he doesn't even try to tell them his feelings about these type of things. Still, why the hell were they so shocked? Didn't it make sense for her to point it out to them? She knew damn well she wasn't smart but she wasn't a complete idiot when it come to these type of things. It wasn't like she didn't have eyes.

"W-What are you trying to say?" Masumi stuttered, voicing out the question that was in everyone's mind.

"It has been three months since his whole clan died and all you guys talk about is love," Naruto frowned. "Do you think he wants to hear these type of things? He lost his family. He isn't like you guys! He doesn't spend his whole time thinking about love. Don't you think he will only think about his family for months? Don't you think he has been through hell? Do you think telling him that you love him will make him feel better? Because it isn't going to help him. I think I will speak for every normal person in this classroom when I say you guys are insane to say these type of things to him."

"You don't know that!" Another girl yelled and Naruto winced at the loudness of her classmate's voice. It wouldn't surprise Naruto if the people of Sunagakure hear the girl's cries. "If we tell him how we feel then it will make him feel better. What the hell do you know about love Naruto? No one loves you. You are an orphan!"

Naruto felt her eyebrows twitched at her classmate's words and for a brief moment, the blonde thought about grabbing a kunai and throwing it at the girl. No one loves her? Did she think she didn't know it? She had to learn to live with this fact for the past four years. Did it breaks her heart when she was reminded of it? Probably. Was she going to cry about it? No way in hell would she cry about something like this.

"Y'know Sasuke is an orphan," Naruto softly said, taking in a deep breath. "Do you want to tell him no one loves him because he is an orphan? Cuz it sounds to me that you like kids with no parents don't deserve to be loved."

"I-I…"

"I'm getting the hell out of here," Naruto declared, stuffing her stuff into her bag. Sasuke narrowed his eyes but the blue-eyed girl just ignored him. What was the point of her talking about her feelings when she knew no one gave a crap about it? It was better for her to get the hell out of here and calm herself down. "I can't deal with this bullshit anymore. If Iruka-sensei asks where I am, tell him that I am sick."

"You can't just skip class, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto just smiled brightly at her pink-haired classmate and walked out of the door. Who were they to tell her she couldn't skip class? Did they think anyone would give a damn she missed a lesson? There wasn't an adult in this school who cared about her. The only reason why she even bothered to stay in class as long as she did without doing any pranks was because she knew Sasuke needed someone with him.

Now she had no reason to stay in class.

* * *

"Uchiha-sama, you should avoid becoming close with Naruto."

Sasuke blinked his eyes and stared blankly at the grocery clerk, who had a tight smile on his face. Why the hell was this man telling him to avoid being friends with Naruto? And how the hell did he know about his friendship with Naruto? No, he bet one of the girls from his class complained to their parents about the hug Naruto gave him. It would just be like them to whine to their parents when they didn't understand the context of the hug. As Naruto would point out and from Sasuke's observations, the girl would have hugged anyone who had helped her pass the test. Did it make him special? No, it did not. If he knew Naruto was going to hug him then he would have stood ten feet away from her.

They might be friends but he was not comfortable with her hugging him. It was a fact Naruto knew as she had apologized several times on their way out of the class. If she had been his fangirl then Sasuke would doubt her apology but he knew the blonde. He knew she didn't look at him or any boy really in that sense. She was just too busy trying to reach the top to actually care about it.

It was a fact he was grateful for.

"Why should I avoid her?" He questioned the clerk. Why would he need to avoid the one person who just wanted to be his friend? The one person Sasuke knew who understood his loneliness and pain. Out of everyone in this village, only Naruto didn't give him looks of pity. She was sympathetic but the girl never once tried to soften her words to him like the others. If anything she would remind him that he was not the first person to lose his family.

The grocery clerk blinked his eyes at him. Sasuke just stared at the old man, noticing for the first time just how icy cold the man's eyes were when he mentioned Naruto. Why did this man care about how close he was to Naruto? She might be annoying with her pranks but the blonde was one of the most nicest and naivest people he knew. Besides, his mother wanted him to be friends with Naruto and if there was one thing Sasuke trusted, it was his mother's instincts.

"The girl is just trouble, Uchiha-sama," The grocery clerk stated, handing him his grocery bags. "She will cause you nothing but trouble if you make friends with her."

"I don't mind if she gives me trouble," Sasuke said, scowling at the old man. "Out of everyone here, Uzumaki is the only one who understands me."

"Uchiha-sama, the girl will bring you nothing but bad luck," he pleaded with eyes shining with emotions that Sasuke couldn't really make out. "The girl will cause you nothing but pain."

Sasuke just nodded his head and walked out of the shop with questions burning through his mind. Did they really think he didn't know how much trouble Naruto causes? The girl could not go one week without doing some kind of prank. There hadn't been a day in their school life where the blue-eyed girl hadn't been scolded for getting into fights and pranking everyone in the school. But, it didn't make sense why the adult would tell him to avoid Naruto. Her pranks shouldn't be enough for the adults to tell him to avoid her. He curled his lips and glanced at the adults, noticing how they kept staring at him as they whispered to each other.

Something wasn't making sense.

Even if Naruto would bring nothing but trouble, Sasuke wouldn't abandon his friend. If not because of the promise he made to his mother then it was because Naruto had been there for him. She was the one trying to teach him how to survive in the real world. The adults would have taught him but only if he asked and not before giving him looks of pity. Naruto never gave him looks of pity, sympathy yes but never pity. If only one person could understand him then there was nothing in the world which would make him give her up.

Besides, Naruto needed him as much as he needed her.

The blonde may act all tough but Sasuke knew the girl would tear up whenever someone showed her an ounce of kindness. He knew if it weren't for him then Naruto would not get the grades that she had. He had been the first one to play with her and that told him just how lonely the girl was. If he hadn't gotten to know Naruto, he doubt he would really see just how sad and lonely she was. It was so easy to forget she was an orphan when she didn't allow anyone to see her pain or sadness.

Yes, she needed him just as much as he needed her because Naruto needed someone who would try to be there for her.

* * *

 _Can't they leave me alone? I haven't done anything to deserve their anger,_ Naruto couldn't help but mentally asked herself as she stared up at the furious girls who surrounded her in her usual spot on the swings. Every single girl who stood in front of her belonged to the so called Sasuke Fan Club, whose main ambition were to try and win the affections of her friend. Some of the girls standing in front of her were her classmates while others were simply her senpais, who recently decided to like Sasuke because of his sudden loss.

She grimaced when she caught sight of Sakura and Ino who both had an ugly scowl as they stared at her. Didn't she explain to them that the only reason she hugged the bastard was because she was happy? She would never had hugged him if it weren't for the fact he helped her in passing the exams. Unlike his fangirls, Naruto knew Sasuke just wasn't ready for physical affections. Even when she hugged him, Sasuke had been tensed as a piece of wood. Honestly hugging Sasuke was like hugging a tree. It just wasn't comfortable.

"Uzumaki, you shouldn't be close to Sasuke-kun," Ino began. "Sasuke-kun isn't here so you can be honest with everyone here. Your tricks of saying that you don't really like Sasuke-kun might fool everyone but us. We know you like him."

"After all why would you hug Sasuke-kun if it wasn't because you like him?" Sakura added, crossing her arms against her chest. Her pink-haired classmates earned several nods from the girls surrounding them. "Face it Naruto, we know you like him."

The blonde blinked and blinked her eyes as she stared at the girls around her. _Can't you hug someone without liking them in whatever way you are accusing me of?_ She wondered as she gazed into the furious eyes of the females around her. What was the big deal? Wasn't it enough she told them she had no feelings whatsoever for the bastard? The only thing she felt for Sasuke was annoyance, understanding and maybe even friendship but she would rather die than admit it to anyone about it.

Anyways, why the hell was she dealing with them? This was supposed to be Sasuke's job. He was their idol and crush. Shouldn't they be questioning him about this? Oh wait, he wasn't the one to initiate the hug. Then again Sasuke caught her so shouldn't they ask him why he caught her? No, they probably didn't ask because they thought he was being her knight in shining armour. It seriously wouldn't surprise her if this was the case. The girls were delusional when it came to Sasuke; always acting as if they knew her friend when they knew nothing about him.

"I will tell you again, I hugged the bastard because I was happy," Naruto said for what must be the second time that day. She curled her lips into a grimace. "You know you can hug a person without having any feelings right? I would have hugged anyone of you guys if you have been standing right in front of me," well that wasn't true because none of them helped her pass the test but she wasn't going to tell them this. "Besides... I am eight. I can't imagine liking anyone especially a guy like Sasuke. He scowls too much."

They all looked at her like she was insane.

"He looks so hot when he scowls like that," one of the girls swooned.

 _He looks like a monkey when he scowls,_ Naruto wanted to tell them but the fear of losing her hearing was enough to bite back the comment. What was so nice about him scowling? When her friend gave a scowl then it meant either three things. One, he was pissed off about something either she or the fangirls did. Two, he was annoyed. Finally, he was thinking about the days before everything went to hell and then how much his life sucked. Once you knew the reason behind the scowl then the charm goes away. Actually, she couldn't even see the charm.

Maybe if she actually saw Sasuke smile then she could see why the girls liked him though Sasuke's personality was anything less than desirable.

"I can't see Sasuke the way you guys do," the girls snorted at her answer but Naruto held her hand up. "I am serious here! Despite what you bitches think, I don't like Sasuke like the way you guys do. The mere idea of liking him like that makes me laugh because there is nothing about him which makes me think of him in that way. Seriously, when I told you I have no feelings for him, I wasn't lying. I didn't hug him to get his attention or anything. I hugged him because I was just so happy for passing the test and he was the closest person to go to."

"Then why the hell are you sitting beside him?" Another classmate yelled. "You never sat beside him before but right now you are always with him. You like him Uzumaki."

 _I sit beside him because I know he doesn't need your bullshit,_ Naruto wanted to yell at her. If she allowed them to sit beside him then Sasuke would have been scowling throughout the whole day because of them. She would have to deal with them gloating to each other about how Sasuke would fall for them now. Her friend didn't need to handle their shit when he was going through grief. Of course she doubt their small brains would understand this.

Oh god, she was starting to sound like Sasuke.

"Have you ever consider that maybe I want to actually try to be a good student?" She asked, hoping they would believe her. Judging from their raised eyebrows, the girls did not believe for one minute she was trying to be a better student now. If she didn't know they would either try to use her or make her life even more difficult, Naruto would declare to them that Sasuke was her best friend. "I like sitting by the window, okay."

"Who are you fooling Uzumaki!"

"Why does it matter that I sit beside him? Have you seen me talking to him during class time?" She snapped, rubbing her temple. "And have you seen Sasuke complain for one minute about me sitting beside him? It is a free class. I can sit wherever I want."

"You haven't decided to sit beside Sasuke until a couple of weeks ago. Sasuke-kun is also too kind to tell your ugly ass to sit somewhere else," Ami pointed out. "And what about before class? I have seen you guys talking to each other."

 _Sasuke kind? Are we talking about the same guy here?_ Naruto wondered as she stared wide-eyed at the purple-haired girl. Okay, she knew these girls were delusional but this was taking it to a whole different level. If Sasuke wanted to tell her to sit somewhere else then he would not hesitate to tell her to sit somewhere else. From the very beginning, the boy had always been blunt when it came to these things. The only time when he hadn't been blunt was when it come to telling his fangirls he had no feelings for them.

Then again, Naruto was starting to see his point about how there was no point of telling them because if they thought he was kind then there must be something wrong with them.

"Oh that, I hate the silence," Naruto explained truthfully. "So I talk to the bastard if I see him because I just don't like the silence. I would do the same if I see Shikamaru, Choji or even Kiba."

Ino frowned but didn't dare to voice out her doubts. Shikamaru and Choji must have told her about this because Naruto could distinctly remember the pineapple-head boy complaining about how she was just like the other girls when it came to talking. She had given him a glare and pointed out she wasn't like Ino or Sakura, who would always talk about Sasuke or about their problems in life. The worse she ever done to Shikamaru was complained about how the grocery store run out of her favourite cup noodles but that was as bad as it had went.

"The point is Naruto, you should leave Sasuke-kun alone," Sakura said. Naruto could feel herself shivering as she felt the temperature surrounding her drop to freezing cold levels. Was she the only one who felt cold here? She wondered as she rubbed her arms and stared into the girl's icy eyes. Seriously why was it freezing? Maybe, it was actually possible for someone to make her feel cold. No, she shouldn't show them her fear. She was a lot stronger then they think. There was nothing in the world which would make her leave him alone.

She was not going to abandon the one kid who actually treated her like a friend.

"You can't tell me to leave him alone," Naruto informed them with a large smile plastered on her face. "I am not someone you can order around! I am not some puppy who will listen to his masters. I am the girl who doesn't give a shit about what people say about me. If I want to sit beside Sasuke then I will do it because I don't need anyone's permission. If I want to talk to him then there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"We will make your life hell, Ugly," Ami snarled.

"Hell?" Naruto curled her lips into a smile. "Go ahead! Make my school life like hell! It isn't like I have enough shit to deal with. Why shouldn't I deal with little girls who can't get a hint? Why should I care what girls like you can do to me?" she could feel her temper rising as the memories from this morning flooded into her mind. She pushed the memory to the back of her mind and continued on. "You know if you could put so much effort into trying to make my school life like hell Eggplant then you should direct your efforts into studying. After all, you did come to the Academy to become a kunoichi and not someone's wife right?"

She didn't know where this cruelty was coming from but it felt good to let out her anger on them. She might pay for this later when Ami's father come to the Academy to tell Iruka-sensei for what she did but Naruto didn't mind. Detentions. Scolding. Bullying. She had been dealt with those things for as long as she had been in the Academy. If she couldn't do it with a smile on her face then she didn't deserve to become Hokage.

The future Hokage should be able to face these type of challenges without complaining.

* * *

"Where did you skive off to, Deadlast?" Sasuke asked as soon as Naruto led him into her living room. He didn't need to ask the girl why she left when the answer to the question was obvious. If he had been a better friend to her, he would have searched for her as soon as he finished his shopping but Sasuke never knew how to comfort. Even before the massacre, he had never been the comforting type. It just became even worse when he saw his whole clan murdered.

He folded his arms and looked at the blond-haired girl with a raised eyebrow. Naruto just smiled at him, shrugged her shoulders before making her way to the kitchen, where he had no doubt the girl was going to bring out some snacks that would distract him from his questioning. He glanced at the walls, noticing the pictures of the blonde with the Hokage as well as several posters hanging around the walls. It almost surprised him how neat the apartment was but then again, Naruto did have standards when it come to cleanliness. He had to spend a whole month listening to her lecture him about the importance of cleaning his apartment and her teaching him how to clean until she deemed him reasonable well in housework.

He only passed her examination just yesterday.

"I went to the Hokage Monument," Naruto finally answered as she placed a plate of cookies on the table. "You can see the whole village from there though if you really want the best view of the village then you should sit on top of the Fourth Hokage. His head really shows you everything and it might not look like it but it is comforting."

Sasuke thinned his lips at her response but made no comment to contradict Naruto's words. This wasn't the time to tell her she had found no comfort. He might not be the best communicator but he knew better than to question her feelings on the matter. The large smile stuck on her face told him everything Naruto was hiding. In the month he came to know her, Sasuke came to the realization that Naruto gave those smiles when she was trying to show that nothing in the world bothered her.

"Change your clothes, Uzumaki." He really couldn't stand her moping around. It almost reminded him of the times where his mother would stare sadly at the blonde beside him and the last thing Sasuke wanted to remember were the days when his mother had been sad. As Naruto would tell him, he should remember the happy times with his parents.

Naruto blinked her eyes and folded her arms against her chest. "You don't order people around, Bastard! You politely ask people to change their clothes! And why should I change?"

"You passed the exam didn't you?" He reminded her. Naruto furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head at him, which earned a frustrated sigh from him. Did the idiot forget everything? He thought she would remember the promise he made with her. "I told you if you passed the exam that I would teach you the Fireball Jutsu didn't I? I can't teach you if you wearing pyjamas."

Naruto grinned the moment he finished telling her about their plans for the rest of the day. He knew his father would be rolling over his grave at what he was about to teach Naruto but Sasuke also aware his mother would be proud of his actions. She had wanted him to be close to the girl beside him because she knew Naruto didn't have it easy. His mother would be proud at the fact he was teaching Naruto this technique. If not because it meant he thought Naruto as family then it was because he was trying to cheer Naruto up his own way.

"Are you serious Sasuke?"

"If you don't change in the next minute then I will change my mind," he informed her with a smirk on his face. Naruto clapped her hands together before rushing off to her bedroom, where she would no doubt change into her exercise attire. Was it really alright for him to do this? He couldn't help but question himself. It was true his mother would be proud of him but shouldn't he be focusing on getting revenge? He would never get stronger if he helped Naruto. She would only give him weakness but despite knowing this, he couldn't find it in himself to leave her.

"I am so ready to master the jutsu," Naruto declared, snapping him out of his train of thought. He curled his lips into a smirk and turned his head to look at the girl who had a smile on her face. He could still see the lingering sadness in her eyes but it would disappear in the end of the day. The girl would forget about her troubles the moment he taught her how to do the jutsu. If she could forget to prank Eri then she could definitely forget what those girls say to her.

"I bet you can't master it by the end of today."

There was a fire in Naruto's blue eyes at his taunt. "If I can master it in just under three hour then you are buying me all the ramen that I can eat, Sasuke."

"And if I win then you are going to spend a whole week without doing any pranks and working on your schoolwork."

He felt his smirk widened when he saw the wrinkle on Naruto's face. There was no way in hell Naruto could master the jutsu in under three hours. It took him so many tries to master the jutsu so it would take longer for her since Naruto didn't even have the capabilities of mastering it. If she couldn't do the leaf exercise then there was no chance of her mastering the Fireball jutsu in under one hour. It was for this reason, he decided that his prize of winning this absurd bet was to improve Naruto's standing in the school.

No way in hell was his best friend going to be the dead last of their year.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. I would love to hear your thoughts of the characters and whether or not you think they are in character or not. Also, tell me what you think about the confrontation between Naruto and the other girls.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter as well as adding this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

Naruto curled her lips into a scowl and stared back at her smirking friend, who had his arms folded against his chest. Of course, he would be happy that she lost the bet. Instead of paying for her ramen for the rest of the day, he would be forcing her to study all the things she hated. She shouldn't have agreed to do the bet, not when she knew there was a chance of her being forced to study. Then again Naruto could never ever back down from a challenge even if the consequence was going to be painful.

"Y'know I could totally mastered the jutsu if you had given me more time," Naruto finally said as they walked out of the training grounds. Sasuke rolled his eyes and smirked even wider, which made her curl her lips into a pout. "C'mon bastard, I was nearly there! If you haven't told me that my time was up then I might just have been able to master it! It just isn't fair that you gave me such a short time limit!"

"The most you were able to do was getting the smoke to come out of your mouth," Sasuke looked up at the evening sky and continued on. "You didn't even get a small flame to form, Dobe. Besides you were the one that suggested the length of time that you will need to be able to master it. It isn't my fault that you didn't master it like you said you would."

She opened her mouth to tell him that she did not tell him that she would master it in under three hours but then remembered that she did tell him she would master it in three hours. It was not her fault. How the hell was she supposed to know that the jutsu wasn't easy to master? After all if Sasuke could master it then why shouldn't she do the same? No, she could still master the jutsu if she spent time practicing the jutsu. But how could she complete it when Sasuke was going to make her study her ass off? Honestly, why he couldn't given her an easier punishment? She would have complained if he tried to make her his maid but it would have been a lot better than studying for a whole week.

Anything was better than studying for a whole week.

"I really don't want to spend a whole week studying!" Naruto cried. "If I studied for a whole week then I will become as boring as you and I don't want that."

"If I am so boring then why do you hang out with me instead of Kiba and the others?" She opened her mouth to answer but the older boy continued on before she could answer him. "Do you know why no one takes you seriously when you say that you are going to become Hokage? It is because you don't have the grades that shows your dream. No one is going to think you can become Hokage if you continue to act like this."

"My grades aren't that bad!" Naruto yelled.

Her grades weren't like Sakura and Ino but Naruto was not a complete idiot. Out of all the girls in their year, Naruto had one of the highest scores when it came to taijutsu. The only girl who could beat her was Hinata but then again she didn't mind getting her hands dirty. Almost all of the girls in their year refused to put some effort into their taijutsu, which was weird if you asked her since taijutsu was fun. It felt good to punch someone since she could unleash her fury on them.

"There is a reason why people called you DeadLast," Sasuke retorted, rolling his eyes at her. "If you want people to stop calling you deadlast and to start taking you seriously then you need to start studying everything that they are teaching us. If you haven't lost then you would never get the chance to prove everyone wrong. You might be an idiot but you have a better chance of becoming a ninja then the rest of the girls in our year."

Naruto stared at Sasuke's dark eyes and wondered whether she should yell at him for calling her an idiot or to thank him for trying to help her. If she said the word 'thank you' to him then he might get the wrong idea about everything. Oh god, she might even make him more arrogant and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. However, she couldn't yell at him because he was the first kid to believe in her. He was one of the few people who thought there was a potential in her.

In the end, she decided to snap at him.

"If I am an idiot then why the hell do you want to waste your time? I don't need your help."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke retorted. "You aren't a complete idiot Dobe after all you do try to become a good kunoichi. I can't say the same for the rest of the girls in our year. If they have time to stalk me then they have more then enough time to practice on their taijutsu."

The blonde couldn't stop herself from smiling at her best friend's words. There was a lot of things she could say about the bastard beside her but subtle was not one of them. What the hell were her classmates and senpais were thinking when they say Sasuke was just shy to tell her not to sit beside him? The only thing stopping the black-haired boy from telling them off was the fact he knew better than to do it.

"Their taijutsu really sucks doesn't it? The only person who is good is Hinata," Naruto said, oblivious to the flinch from the boy beside her. "Though they are really good when it comes to everything kunoichi related like flowers and stuff."

Why the hell must they learn the importance of flower arrangement? Naruto loved learning about the meaning of flowers but she couldn't figure out for the life of hers why they needed to learn how to put it together. Who cared about how it looked? As long as it looked nice to look at then it should be fine. She didn't need to learn why it was important to make sure the message was clear to everyone. The cooking was easy but she didn't know why there were specific recipes she had to learn.

Actually when she thought about it, she had one of the best grades when it came to home economics.

"Why are you guys learning about flowers?" Sasuke asked, making a face at her. "How is that going to help you become a good shinobi? Shouldn't you guys focus more on taijutsu and ninjutsu? "

"I knew it! I'm not the only one who thinks it is pointless!" She said, grinning at the older boy. "Y'know if you say that in front of your fangirls then I will bet you a 1000 ryo that they will focus more on those two areas then the feminine stuff. Hell, if you tell them that you like girls like me then they will definitely become better kunoichi."

"I'm not going to say it in front of them," Sasuke stated, earning a pout from the blond-haired girl. He rolled his eyes. "I'm not letting you use me to make a point. It is stupid if they become better because I told them so. They should use their heads."

 _And this is why I will always think those girls are crazy to think you are their prince charming,_ Naruto thought, crossing her arms against her chest. She had known this boy for the past two months and realized he was a blunt arrogant ass so why the hell didn't his fangirls understand it? Hmm, this might be a question the Hokage could answer. He was probably smart enough to explain to her how these people not notice her friend's dislike for them.

"Y'know they aren't that smart right?" Naru asked dryly and she smiled widely when the older boy's lips twitch at her words. "They think if they are weak then you will come and save their asses, giving them the chance to admire you. I remember Ami saying that it would be the perfect chance for you to fall in love with them."

"What gave them that stupid idea?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Naruto retorted, shrugging her shoulder. "I'm just telling you the things I hear in the bathroom when they think no one is listening. I even heard one of them betting what kind of underwear you wear."

Sasuke stopped walking once she finished saying those words. He turned and jerked his head at her, looking at her as if she was insane to tell him this. She scowled. Was she the one who made the bet? Hell she didn't even support their stupid idea. Seriously, why was it important for them to know what kind of underwear he wore? He wore underwear just like them so it wasn't anything special. No, Naruto corrected, it was important to them because they were weirdos.

Hmm, she might be able to profit from their desire to know about Sasuke's underwear.

"Whatever idea you have Dobe, get it out of your head."

"You don't even know what the hell I am thinking," Naruto protested as the two of them made their way to her apartment block.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her. "You're planning to use the fact that they want to know my underwear to get money aren't you? It is the kind of thing you would do."

How the hell did he know about her planning to steal his underwear and selling it to his fanclub? She tilted her head and stared at the black-haired boy, who had an ugly scowl on his face. Did he really believe it would be enough for him to tell her to not do this brilliant plan of getting more money? She might not even go through with the plan since it involved her getting his underwear and having the girl wondering how the hell she had been able to do it. The yelling from his fangirls weren't going to make her life easier.

Still, the temptation of having more money was enough for her to forget the terror, which was Sasuke's fangirls.

"I will give you forty percent of my profit."

"I'm not lending you my underwear just so you could get more money!"

"C'mon."

"No."

Even though her best friend was refusing to go through with her idea, Naruto couldn't help but grin as Sasuke argued with her about the importance of not exploiting his fangirls for her desires, whatever that meant. As long as he could argue and scowl at her for being like this then Naruto knew everything was going to be fine between them.

* * *

"Stick that leaf on your forehead," Sasuke said, handing the blonde one of the fallen leaves he had taken from the training ground. The two of them had came to Naruto's apartment as soon as school was over; the two of them had dashed off before any of his stupid fangirls came after him. His life would be a lot easier if they just left him alone. No, it would be easier if they get through their thick head he didn't like them at all.

"You're going to make me do that stupid leaf exercise!" Naruto stated as she placed the leaf on her forehead. He nodded his head, earning a scowl from the blonde. At least she wasn't complaining even more about it or trying to find an excuse not to do the chakra control exercise, Sasuke thought as he took a seat on the sofa. He flickered his eyes to their school books, wondering if he was over his head when he said they would spend a week of during schoolwork.

"Do you understand how embarrassing it is that you can't stick a leaf to your forehead with your chakra? A Hokage should be able to do that much," Sasuke stated as he picked up the blond-haired girl's science notebook. He flickered through the notebook, noticing the fact the blue-eyed girl had the dates written but no notes were written. A piece of writing caught his eyes and the black-haired boy knitted his eyebrows when he realized that the blonde had written notes along with the date.

Why did she wrote that time but not for the others? Naruto was a lot of things but he knew the blonde tried her hardest to take notes even if she didn't understand anything they were learning. He flickered to the next page, noticing there was a blank page, before going to the next page, which was filled with writing.

"Dobe, why do you have several notes missing?" Sasuke asked, breaking his friend's concentration.

Tilting her head to the right, Naruto knitted her eyebrows together and finally answered. "Well either I fell asleep during the teacher's boring lecture or they were being unfair and decided I needed to go out of the lesson even though I haven't done anything wrong."

The first one made sense but Sasuke couldn't understand the reasoning for the second. If he hadn't started paying attention to the way people treated the blonde beside him then he would say she was making things up. Yet, he could not deny there was something odd about the way the teachers treated the girl beside him. Cold. Hate. Fear. Those were the emotions he associated with their teachers whenever they were forced to look at Naruto. It was like they think his friend was dangerous when Naruto would never hurt anyone without reason.

Something wasn't making sense.

"Then how come you never asked for anyone for notes?" Sasuke asked as Naruto placed the fallen leaf back on her forehead. He also wanted to ask why they were treating her like this but this was not the time to ask her so many questions. Just like the blonde made sure not to ask any personal questions in one go, he made certain to not talk about the treatment of the adults in one shot. The blonde may act brave, may act like she didn't care but he knew it was a way for her to make sure no one attacked her weakness.

"I can't read Choji's handwriting while Kiba barely writes any notes," Naruto explained, scrunching her eyebrows together as she tried to keep the leaf on her forehead for a minute. "I could ask Shikamaru but knowing him, he would probably write the least amount of notes needed for him to pass. Sakura and Ino don't really like talking to me so I can't ask them; I don't know what I did to deserve them hating me. Hinata always seems to faint whenever I try to go near to her and I thought you were an asshole who would never help me, which is why I never asked you till now."

Sasuke would not deny the blonde was right when she thought he wouldn't help her. His father had always warned him to stay away from the girl while his mother had dreamt of him becoming friends with her. Until that day where Naruto approached him, he had planned to continue on with his father's desire. There had been a reason why his father wanted him to avoid the girl but the black-haired boy wondered if his father had been wrong in telling him this. Out of everyone in this village, it was Naruto that was helping him through the mess that _man_ had caused him to go through.

"How long must I keep this stupid leaf on my forehead?"

"Three minutes," Sasuke answered without any hesitance. The blonde groaned, opened her mouth to argue with him but only to close it when he picked up one of the first test papers they done that year, where she had gotten one of the lowest grades in the year. Scowling, the girl smacked the leaf back on her forehead and continued on sticking the leaf to her forehead.

Why did his father tell him to avoid Naruto? Why were the teachers treating her differently from everyone else? She was a troublemaker but now the blue-eyed girl mentioned it, there had been times when it had been unfair for her to be sent out of the classroom. He stared at his best friend, who now had her eyes shut as she tried to make the leaf stick to her forehead for three minutes, and then to one of the letters that his crazy fangirls gave him. Now that he thought about it, there had been times when the teacher had taken the crazy fangirls side instead of Naruto.

Didn't today Iruka gave a lecture to Naruto about how she shouldn't say names to that annoying purple-haired girl? The blonde hadn't told him the reason for the lecture but Sasuke knew there was a reason for the girl name calling. If their classmate had done something which insulted his best friend then she wouldn't do the name calling. In fact, his fangirl had been calling his best friend's names and insulted her lack of parents so why hadn't their teacher talked to her about it.

In fact, why hadn't Naruto ever mention it to Iruka.

"Damn it! I lasted only a minute." Naruto grumbled, snapping him out of his thoughts. Sasuke blinked his eyes and watched carefully as his friend grabbed the leaf from the floor and placed it back on her forehead. Why treat her differently? What was the cause for this weird treatment? And why didn't she ever ask a teacher to deal with those fangirls? Sasuke couldn't deal with them without them thinking he was in love with the girl beside him, which wasn't true.

"Dobe, why didn't you tell Iruka that she started it? Why did you let him give you a lecture?" Sasuke asked, fixing his dark eyes on the girl.

"He would never believe me if I told him Ami threatened to make my life hell," Naruto answered, letting the leaf drop from her forehead. She had a small bitter smile and continued ont. "In the first year of school, I tried to tell him about my problems with the other kids but he just ignored them. He will just give me a weird look before saying I should handle my own problems. Also whenever I get into fights, he doesn't believe me when I say they started it. Sure I started a few of them but I will admit to those 'cause the Hokage told me it is bad to lie but most of the time I didn't start the fight. He never listen to my side of the story and from that day on. I know it isn't 'cause I am an orphan because I've seen him take the sides of my fellow orphans so it's another reason. Nah, it's because of that I know he hates me and I can't trust him because he would never take my side."

" _Uzumaki is an idiot."_

Those were the whispers the kids in their class would say about Naruto and at one point, Sasuke agreed with them but now he could not see it. The blonde was oblivious to a point it was not funny but she was not an idiot. Books weren't her thing but once she put her mind to it then she could be one of the best in their year; the only thing stopping her were their teachers. She wasn't ignorant about their teacher's dislike, which was why she didn't bother to defend herself.

If anything Sasuke believed the girl was trying her hardest to pretend those things didn't existed.

"If you make that leaf stick to your forehead for three minutes then we can go to the training ground so you can practice the fireball jutsu," Sasuke said, knowing that a change of topic would make the girl happy again. "Of course if you fail to last three minutes again then we are going to look over those science notes you missed before practicing the jutsu again."

"I will make it to three minutes, believe it!"

She better not because Sasuke doubt he could last a whole night making sure Naruto copied all the notes that she had missed in the past year.

* * *

Hiruzen could not help but smile as he stared down at the crystal ball in front of him, where he could see Naruto heading towards the training grounds with Sasuke. For the past couple of years, he had taken the time to look at the ball and see how his successor's daughter had been doing. He had seen her cry for her lack of parents, seen her plan pranks for all the kids that bullied her and even watched her as she slept peacefully at the night. However, it was just recently he had taken notice of young Sasuke friendship with Naruto.

In fact, he wouldn't have been none the wiser if he hadn't seen the boy in the young girl's apartment, forcing the girl to study for the lessons that she had missed or had been forced out of. Sasuke was doing something her teachers should have done for her. He was helping her to become the amazing kunoichi Naruto was very much capable of being; something the Third Hokage could not do without having the civilian council members causing a headache. If he did not know it was just another plot for Danzo to force his hand and give him the girl then he would tell them to shut the hell up and let him deal with the teachers.

Teachers were a problem when it came to Naruto, it was something Hiruzen could not deny. From the moment the blue-eyed girl came crying in his office about the unfairness of her teachers was the moment he knew the girl would always have a hard problem. If it hadn't been for the fact the girl had been determined for him not to interfere with her issues in school then he would have given those teachers a stern talking about how to treat the girl.

" _If I am going to become Hokage then you shouldn't deal with my problems, old man! As the future Hokage, I should be able to show the teachers that it isn't right to treat me like this so don't do anything or else I will know, old man."_

It might had been three years ago when the little girl told him those words but the fire in her eyes told Sarutobi just how much she would hate him for interfering with her problems. Just like her mother, the blonde did not like the idea of anyone helping her in dealing with her issues. Though, Sarutobi noted fondly, it was a different case when someone actually made a bet which would benefit her.

Sasuke had made a bet to ensure the girl was going to do something which would benefit her in the future, something the old man was grateful for. If it had been anyone else, they would have taken advantage of his surrogate granddaughter but the boy had done the opposite: he allowed Naruto to use him to further her goals. Of course he suspected there might be a selfish reason too but Hiruzen would ignore it unless he thought it would harm the girl.

"Then again I can't tear them apart even if it does hurt Naruto," Sarutobi mused to himself, stroking his beard as he watched closely at the young girl, who was now weaving her hands through the motion to make the fireball jutsu. "Just as he is letting her use him to become a splendid kunoichi, Naruto is helping him heal from the emotional trauma Itachi had caused."

He might not have watch them from the very beginning of their friendship but Hiruzen noticed the bubbling friendship those two had. The boy might not show his emotions like Naruto did but it was more open than the day he woke up from the hospital. The emptiness in Sasuke's eyes was slowly disappearing and while he doubt happiness would ever radiated from those eyes, he knew the boy was not going to become a cold man like he suspected him to become. Even now, Hiruzen could detect the subtle signs of desire of protecting the girl in the boy's eyes.

"It is a long time before those two can graduate but it is obvious that they can work well with each other," he muttered to himself, opening up his notebook to make a note to himself. Hiruzen eyed the two kids, noticing the smile on his female ward face, and nodded his head. "Naruto would need all the help she could get when she becomes a genin and young Sasuke will need someone who understand him. Tearing them apart would be a terrible idea; those two could become an unstoppable team at this rate."

Now he just needed to wait for the genin exams to figure out who would be the third member of their team.

* * *

 _So I was right to think it wasn't only the teachers and the grocery store owner who acted like this_ , Sasuke thought as Naruto and him walked through the crowded streets that would lead them back to his home. It had been hard for the boy to convince the blonde to wait for half of the class to go back home before going back to her place. Actually, he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't wanted the confirmation on his theory about everyone in the village disliking Naruto.

Even now as they bumped into a couple of people, they weren't glaring at him but at the girl beside him. If they even looked at him then the adults would give him looks of pity while giving such icy looks to his best friend. What was the difference between them? Was it because he lost his whole clan to his brother they treated him differently or was it something else entirely? No, it had to be something else entirely because they weren't the only orphans this village had. In fact all the other orphans were treated with indifference and none of them were given cold looks.

Only Naruto was ever given cold looks.

"Y'know our one week deal is going to be over soon so I might be going back to pranking Ami," Naruto said with a large smile on her face. Sasuke blinked his eyes, wondering what was causing the girl to suddenly talked about her revenge against their classmate, and stopped walking as he realized something for the first time. He felt like a complete idiot for not noticing it sooner. Had she started to talk about this because she wanted to ignore those cold looks? Were all those times when she spoke loudly in the streets a way for her to get passed through these adults without showing her fear?

He could go on with her wishes.

"If you do that then everyone will think you are nothing but a prankster," he warned her, flickering his eyes to the adults that were now whispering to each other. Sasuke licked his cracked lips. "You don't want people to underestimate you, Deadlast. If you want everyone to think you are going to become Hokage then you better show how serious you are to get it."

"She called me Ugly!" Naruto said, scowling at him as the two of them made a turn that would lead him to his apartment. "Now I don't give a shit about how I look but I ain't letting her get away with those words. I need to show her who is the boss."

"You can show it to her by showing her that you become Hokage while she become someone everyone will forget," Sasuke reminded her when the two of them stopped in front of his apartment complex. The blonde looked put down by his words and if he was like the other boys in their year then he might have apologized to her but he knew better. Talking the girl out of her crazy plan was better then having her gloating about the fact he couldn't deny her 'beautiful face' as the girl would proudly boast to her.

The girl might be proud to admit she loved she cared about becoming a kunoichi but it didn't change the fact she could be vain about her looks.

"You aren't ugly and everyone knows it," Sasuke said. He knew this was the only time in which honesty was the only thing that could prevent her from doing something dangerous. The girl blinked her eyes, earning a scowl from the older boy. "They talk about you being ugly because they know a lot of the boys in our year and above likes you."

"You are kidding right?" Naruto shook her head. "I would know if they think I'm pretty right? Besides, they are prettier girls in our school like Ino and Sakura."

What was so pretty about those two? Ino cared only about her looks and had hair that was too light while Sakura had pink-hair which was enough said. He knew a few of the boys liked the pink-haired girl's green eyes but Sasuke had never seen what was so nice about it. In fact even before the massacre, he had preferred Naruto's bright blue eyes and long golden hair. Till that day, he had never seen someone with her look. He remembered his cousin commenting how the girl looked like she could be a princess with her pretty hair and eyes.

His heart clenched as he remembered his dead cousin.

"You terrify them with the fact you don't act like a girly girl," Sasuke informed her.

"Then they are stupid."

"Not as stupid as the fangirls."

He felt his lips twitched when Naruto let out a boisterous laugh at his words. There was something about listening to his friend's laugh that just made him want to give her a smirk or smile. Was it because how different it was from the other girl's laughter? Or was it because how there was so much warmth in her laugh? For as long as Sasuke could remember, the girl had always radiated warmth and sincerity.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if it was okay for him to act like this. Shouldn't he be devoting his time and energy to kill his brother instead of making sure Naruto become one of the best kunoichi? He didn't want his clan to think he didn't care about them or he had forgiven Itachi for the crime he did. That was the last thing he wanted but Sasuke didn't want his mother to be upset with him for not continuing on his friendship with the girl beside him. No, he corrected himself, he didn't want to stop it.

From the moment she decided to become his friend, Sasuke began to feel the warmth he missed.

It was perhaps for this reason why he could not understand why the adults treated Naruto the way they did.

"Is it normal for everyone to give you those looks?" Sasuke asked Naruto as he opened the door to his apartment. The blonde froze at his question but he just ignored his friend's discomfort and continued on. "I wasn't going to ask you this until tomorrow but it has been bugging me how everyone seems to give you those cold looks."

The blonde stared at him for a good couple of seconds before slowly nodding her head. The pain and sadness in the girl's bright blue eyes told him just how long she had been forced to deal with those looks yet she had tried her hardest not to show them. For some reason, his friend could handle something he hated people doing. Not once did she boast to the other kids about how she could deal with the icy looks people gave them. Instead she boasted about things she shouldn't be proud of and for that Sasuke wondered why she wasn't proud to say she could handle it.

He didn't think he could handle it if people looked at him the way they looked at her.

"For as long as I could remember, people kept giving me weird looks," Naruto said, breaking him from his train of thought. The eight-year-old girl undid her hair tie, letting her long hair to tumble down to her waist, and smiled. "You think they only give me weird looks? They also like to give me names when they think I can't hear them."

"Why?"

"I don't know why," Naruto admitted, rubbing her arms. "I asked the Hokage about it but he just shook his head and told me that he will tell me the reason why when I was older or if I become a chunin."

Sasuke wasn't surprised by her answer but what he was surprised and curious about was how was the Hokage involved with the mystery of the adult's dislike for Naruto? He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if there were clues on the adults' strange behaviour. Maybe it had to do with her father because the boy could still remember talking about his friend's mother with fondness.

It had to do with something about her father.

"Did the Hokage ever mention your father to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook her head. "No, he told me he will tell me about my parents when I became a chunin or when I turn sixteen, whatever comes first."

"Do you think the way they treat you is because of your father? Maybe he did something which caused the villagers to take out their anger at you," Sasuke suggested, earning a thoughtful look from the blonde.

This was the only thing which made sense in his eyes. Traitors and children of traitors weren't spoken fondly about in the villagers and it would explain why the Third Hokage would avoid telling his friend about her family. He rubbed his chin. If the two of them found out who her father was and see what he did then it would explain everything. It would give his friend the answers that she clearly desired.

"But how the hell are we going to find out who my parents are?"

"Leave that to me."

He was going to find out why the adults were acting so strange when it came to Naruto.

* * *

 **Question and Answer:**

 **Q: Will Naruto get stronger in her time in the Academy with Sasuke's help?**

 _A: Yes because she is getting the help that she always needed. Due to their friendship, Sasuke had found a way to ensure Naruto keeps up with her study and is determined that she doesn't become weak._

 **Q: Is Sakura still going to be placed in Team Seven?**

 _A: As of now, I'm considering the idea of her being placed in Team Seven but it might change later as I write the chapters._

 **Q: Is Sakura still going to be an annoying fangirl?**

 _A: You just have to wait and see._

* * *

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think about this chapter and the friendship Sasuke and Naruto are developing.**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I want to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows.

* * *

It felt strange to be back in his clan's compound, Sasuke thought as he pushed open the gates that separated his clan compound from the rest of the world. Even though it had been months since his clan was massacre, he still expected to see the kind old lady who would sell him dango and to see one of his younger clansmen running around with a smile on their face. Before, there used to be so much noise in this compound but now there was nothing but stone cold silence greeting him as he walked towards his parents' home.

He flickered his eyes towards the empty streets, remembering the corpses he had found lying on the pavement when he had returned from training. Had it really been a few months ago when the corpses and blood greeted him when he came back home? It felt like yesterday he was coming back home with so much excitement of telling his father about what he accomplished, only to find his parents bloodied corpse. His legs began to shake as he remembered seeing that man standing over their corpses, not feeling at all guilty for murdering their mother and father.

" _It was to measure my capacity."_

Itachi's words haunted his mind even now as he forced himself to open their home door. How could his brother be cruel? Why couldn't he find other ways to measure his capacity? Why take their family away from him? Did he even know his brother? Had the Itachi he knew was nothing but a mask? Sasuke shook his head and stared blankly at the kitchen. It was nothing but a mask, he reminded himself as he gazed at the dining room table, where their family smiled and told their day to their parents. He would kill his brother for what he did; he would make that man pay for his crimes.

Sasuke felt his breath hitched when he saw the cutting board and he remembered the days where his mother would make him a bento and lecture him the importance of eating everything in there. Move on, he chanted to himself, walking to the directions of his parents bedroom.

" _Sasuke, don't come in!"_

His mother screams rang through his mind as he gazed at the doors belonging to his parents' bedroom. Those had been her last words to him before his big brother sliced her body. Tears began running down his eyes as he recalled how his father had been on top of his mother with blood pouring out of his stomach. He didn't even get to hear his father's last words. He would never know if his Dad had been proud of him like his mother always claimed he had been. Everything had been taken away because of Itachi.

There were only two things he gained from this experience was the reality of how cruel the world was and Naruto. If Itachi hadn't murdered their whole clan then he would have never became friends with the smiling blue-eyed girl, who was always trying her hardest to make sure he didn't wallow in sadness. The blonde was the only reason why he could handle the Academy, the only person he knew who could understand the loneliness he felt. She was the one person who had told him that he wasn't the only one to lose a family.

She was the only person to admit she didn't understand what he was going through.

Shaking his head, Sasuke felt his heart raced when he caught sight of the faded blood stains on the floor. It would be impossible for him to tell if it had been his mother's blood stain or his father's but the only thing he remembered was how he caught sight of their corpses. The last thing he would ever see was the lack of smile on both of his parents' faces, the blood dripping out of their mouth.

He hated how Itachi had made that his last memory of his parents.

" _See you after Shuriken practice."_

Why couldn't have that been his last memory of his mother? Sasuke wondered as he opened the closet, where he hoped his mother's academy year book would be. Why didn't he hugged his mother before leaving the house? He should have given her a hug. He should have told her just how much he loved her and that he would become friends with Naruto like she wanted.

" _I sometimes wonder what it will be like to have a mother hug."_

Naruto's words haunted his mind as he slammed the closet doors shut and opened the drawers. He wished his mother would wrap her arms around him again, to tell him if he was doing the right thing. If he had known that day would have been the last time he saw his mother then he would have tried his hardest to savour it. He would have given his mother a hug to remind himself just how lucky he had been because his best friend never had someone hug her. At least he had the memory of his mother's hug while the blonde didn't even have that much.

Sasuke blinked his eyes when he caught sight of a large blue book that had the letters Academy spelled out in a bright golden colours. Was this his mother's school yearbook? He flipped open the book, taking note that there were several faded tear stains on the pages of the book. Skipping through the pages, he took note of how his mother had scribbled down a lot of things with a smiley face though there were times when her handwriting changed. When he finally reached to near the end of the photo album was when he saw his mother and her classmates.

It was strange to think and see his mother had been his age before, Sasuke mused as he stared down at his smiling mother, who had her hands around a grinning red-haired girl. In his mind, his sweet mother had always been an adult but this picture was proof she had been young too. He traced his mother's features, noticing the joy and mischief in her eyes as she looked at the camera. This was how he wished he would see his mother in his dreams.

Shaking his head, Sasuke gazed at the pretty red-haired girl beside his mother. She had a round face and violet eyes, which twinkles of a promise for trouble. Her face shape and the twinkle of trouble reminded him of his best friend; the girl always had the same twinkle whenever she was making a promise to do a prank. Actually thinking about it, if the hair colour and eye colour were changed then he would be seeing Naruto staring back at him.

" _That's my best-friend's daughter, Sasuke-kun."_

This had to be Naruto's mother because this woman had the same face shape and eye shape as his best friend. The teachers once mentioned they inherited their looks as well as any Kekkai Genkai from their family members, meaning this woman had to be his best friend's mother. Pleased with his reasoning, he scanned at the rest of the photos, wondering if there was a clue on who Naruto's father could be.

Looking closely at the photo, he noticed there was a blond-haired boy who had his eyes fixed on Naruto's mother. Leaning closer, Sasuke noted how the boy had the same shade of blond as his best friend. In fact, the boy's eye colour was the same sapphire blue as Naruto. The only difference between Naruto and the boy was the fact his best-friend had long straight blond hair which fell to the middle of her back. The boy, on the other hand, had spiky blond hair.

If this was Naruto's father like he thinked it was then what were their names? What did he do for his best friend to be treated like shit? It had to be the man's fault for his friend's treatment under the villagers.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke looked down at the names under the photo. If he was able to find out what their names were then Naruto and him could figure out why she was being treated like crap. Not only that but at least the blonde could put a name on the people who created her.

 _Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze,_ Sasuke noted down in his mind as he flickered his eyes between the two of them. Wasn't it strange that Naruto inherited her mother's name instead of her father's name? Usually, a child was supposed to take on their father's name. Maybe, it was because Minato Namikaze was a traitor and to protect his friend, her mother gave the girl her maiden name to carry on. This was the only good explanation he had for why the blonde had her mother's last name.

He wouldn't tell Naruto about his theory about what her father did but Sasuke would show her the picture he had of her parents when they were younger and tell her their names.

* * *

"Oi, Sasuke don't you know how to knock? Do you realize I could have been sleeping because it's a Saturday! And why the hell do you have an Academy year book with you?" Naruto called out to him when he barged into her apartment. The black-haired boy didn't bother to answer the blonde, deciding to instead to drop the book on the coffee table before taking a seat on the blonde's uncomfortable couch.

"Why should I knock when you don't even bother to do the same for me?" Sasuke retorted as Naruto took a seat beside him. "And it is noon, Naruto. I doubt even you could sleep in for that long unless you spent the whole night planning for a prank...never mind stupid thing to say since you would do it. If you did do that then I hope you realize it would get you into even more trouble."

"Unlike you, I don't mind getting into trouble," Naruto reminded him. "Now the Academy yearbook?"

"It was my mother's Academy yearbook," Sasuke explained.

His friend's eyes lit up when he said those words before slowly fading to a worry look. Why was she worried? Didn't she say she always wonder who she took after? Wasn't she going to jump up and down, telling him the words thank you? Honestly when he thought he had Naruto figured out, it turned out he hadn't actually learnt anything about his friend. There should be a lesson on how to figure out Naruto.

"Did you went back to your clan's compound to go get it?" She asked. He nodded, causing the blonde to look down at her hands. "This is going to kill me but thank you Sasuke...I know it ain't easy for you to go there."

He blinked his eyes, nodded his head and bit his lips to prevent himself from retorting that the girl actually knew how to thank someone. This wasn't the time for him to be rude to her, not when Naruto was looking at the photobook like it held all the answers she needed, not when the girl looked like she was blaming herself for him going there. He was a jerk but he couldn't ruin this happiness of hers since his friend would do anything to make him happy.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Sasuke informed her as he handed her the yearbook to her. He wasn't lying to her because he had been expecting to scream at the sight of the compound. He thought he wouldn't be even able to open the door, not when he could still recall his mother screaming for him not to enter, but he did it. True, he had to chant to himself to force open the door but he had done it, which was more than what people thought he could do.

"Why would you go there? And why did you bring it?" She asked, flipping open the yearbook. "I mean it would be cool to see what ya Mum and Dad looked like as kids but it shouldn't be enough for ya to go there."

Why wasn't she happy? Why was she more concerned about him then about herself? And how could she be so oblivious to figure out why he brought it here? Sasuke questioned himself as Naruto looked down at the yearbook with wide eyes. Then again, Naruto didn't know kindness and was a strange person once you get to know her. Yes, this girl had to be one of the weirdest and maybe even the most kindest person he ever met because she didn't have an agenda when it came to him.

He had quickly realized after the deaths of his parents that most of the girls in their year and above wanted something from him.

Shaking his head, Sasuke grabbed the book from the girl's hands and began flipping the page to where he had found his friend's mother. Okay, he realized he hadn't told Naruto about their mother's friendship but the older boy had honestly thought the girl would have figured out he brought the book to show her parents to her. Maybe he should have told her the plan but Sasuke honestly believed the blue-eyed female would have realized this earlier.

He finally stopped flipping the pages when he caught sight of his mother's class photo.

"That's your mother," Sasuke finally said, jerking his finger to the red-haired girl beside her mother. "If you look underneath the photo Naruto, you would see that her name was Kushina Uzumaki."

The blonde blinked and blinked her eyes before snatching the book from his hands, causing him to roll his eyes at the girl's eagerness to take it from him. He watched Naruto as she traced the characters of her mother's name and felt his whole body froze at the sight of the tears pouring out of her eyes. Tears, Sasuke realized dimly, which were clouding the girl's bright blue eyes. Tears that he had never really seen her pour out of her eyes.

"Mummy. I had a Mummy, Sasuke," Naruto croaked, tearing her eyes away from the book and focusing it on him. "I really did have a Mummy. She doesn't look like me but I have her last name! I have her face shape! Teme, I really did have a Mum."

 _Of course you always had a Mum, idiot! Where do you think you come from?_

He wanted to yell those words to her but it must be the sight of the tears streaming down her eyes which stopped him from yelling those words at her. No matter how much he wanted to ask her where she thought babies came from, he just couldn't force himself to do it. The fact she was cradling his mother's photobook like it was her world reminded him the harsh truth that he constantly forget, the harsh truth that the adults and most of the other kids liked to ignore:

They were lucky to know who their parents were.

"How did you know to find her here?" Naruto asked, rubbing her teary eyes with the sleeves of her bright orange pyjama shirt. "And is my Daddy in here too?"

"Our mothers were the best of friends," Sasuke admitted, looking away from the wide blue eyes which belonged to his best friend. "Mother used to tell me that she made her best friend in her second last year of school so I thought I should find the Academy yearbook which would match the date."

"And my Daddy?"

"I think that blond-haired boy looking at your mother is your father," he informed her, pointing to the blond-haired boy staring at her mother with a strange look in his eyes. Naruto followed his finger and the black-haired boy felt his lips twitched as the girl began to drink in the sight of her parents. "His name is Minato Namikaze."

"Minato Namikaze? But my last name is Uzumaki," Naruto stated, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Why don't I have my father's last name?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulder and looked at the blond-haired boy who stared at Naruto's mother with a strange look in his eyes. What was that emotion? And why doesn't Naruto have her father's last name? He couldn't help but ask himself, tilting his head at the image of the smiling boy. This was something which had been bothering him from the moment he found out that Naruto inherited her mother's last name.

"I don't know," he finally answered, watching the blond-haired girl who was now tearing a piece of paper from her notebook. "What are you doing, Dobe?"

"I'm going to draw my parents," Naruto replied with a tone that made him feel like she thought he was an idiot. "This is your Mum's stuff right? I can't expect you to give me the yearbook right? So to keep the image of my parents alive, I am going to draw them and write their names underneath the image."

That made sense, Sasuke thought as the blond-haired girl began to sketch the images of her parents. He had known for the longest of time that while his best friend might not be the best student when it came to academics, she was one of the best artist the Academy had. It was something their art teacher would acknowledge with a resentful look on her face while the other kids, mostly the girls, hated because the deadlast shouldn't be good in these kinds of things.

Now that he come to think about it, Naruto was good at anything which required the use of her hands.

"Hey Sasuke...would you help me in researching on who my parents were?" Naruto asked, breaking him out of his train of thought. She had a small scowl on her face as she continued on. "Because as much as I hate to admit it, you are better than me when it comes to research...and you are allowed to go to the library while I'm not allowed."

"I will help you since you probably will fall asleep if I left you alone in there," Naruto opened her mouth to argue with him but the black-haired boy just continued, not letting her get a word in to contradict him. "And you do know you could always use the Henge jutsu to enter the library."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you would rather use the jutsu for pranks than for something more practical," Sasuke answered, earning a scowl from the girl. He raised his eyebrows, daring for her to tell him he was wrong but the girl just scowled at him. They both knew that it was the kind of thing that she would do. "Instead of using your henge to escape from the teachers, you could have used it to go into the library."

"Pranks are practical too," Naruto grumbled. "It teaches me how to hide from everyone while wearing the colour orange. How many people can claim that they can hide when wearing the colour orange? No one."

Sasuke frowned and stared at the grinning blond-haired girl. There was no way he could contradict her words because it was the truth. Despite Naruto's bright clothes, the teachers did have a hard time when it came to finding her. It should not be hard to find an orange-clad girl but the teachers could never seem to catch her.

"You might be good at hiding Dobe, but what is the point when no one takes you seriously?" he reminded her. The blue-eyed girl opened her mouth to argue but he continued on. "I know you don't care but it doesn't change the fact that your pranks is one of the reasons that everyone doesn't take your dream seriously."

"And what are the other reasons?"

"Your grades," Sasuke answered promptly.

"It ain't my fault that the teachers don't like me," she grumbled, folding her arms against her chest. "How the hell can I learn when almost every teacher is out to get me? Even if I don't do anything wrong, the teachers will try to find some reason to kick me out of class."

If he hadn't became friends with the girl then Sasuke would have told her that she was making things up, but he knew better now. If he hadn't asked her about her notes then he would never know better. When his friend put her mind to it and had someone to help her then Naruto could do a lot better than almost everyone in their class.

It confused him on why their teachers wanted her to fail.

"That was in the past."

Naruto tilted her head. "What do ya mean? The teachers still hate me."

"The teachers might hate you but you got me," his friend blinked her eyes and Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't feel comfortable when it came to these things, but Naruto needed to know these things. "You have me to help you with the school work. The teachers might want you to fail but I want you to pass."

The blond-haired girl stared at him for a good five seconds before launching herself at him. He opened his mouth to protest but closed his mouth when he felt her tears soaking his shirt. Slowly, he allowed his hands to wrap his friend's thin shoulder and hugged her.

' _You are so lucky, at least you knew what a mother's hug felt like."_

He might not be comfortable with giving hugs but Sasuke knew the girl needed the hug. Unlike him, Naruto never had someone to give her hugs. She never had someone, who was willing to see her tears. She was willing to help people when they are troubled, but no one was willing to see her pain.

Just like she was trying to be there for him, he should try to be there for her.

* * *

"Are you actually going in like that?"

Naruto frowned at her best-friend, who scowled at her. What was wrong with her henge? She just hid her whisker marks and replaced her blond hair with the flaming red hair that her mother had. Ever since Sasuke showed the photo to her, all she did was imagine what she would look like if she had her mother's red hair.

"What is wrong with the disguise?"

"You don't look that much different," Sasuke stated.

"I still wanted to feel like myself!" Naruto frowned and stared at the adults, who kept flickering their eyes at her and then to Sasuke. Did they know she was Naruto? No, they didn't know it was her. Their eyes weren't cold if anything their eyes were warm as they stared at the pair of them.

What was wrong with her that they look at her disguise with fondness?

The black-haired boy scowled at the reminder and flickered his eyes at the adults, who smiled warmly at him. He frowned and Naruto knew that her friend had the same thoughts running through his mind. What was the difference? She only made small changes and no one seemed to give her those cold eyes.

"I don't understand adults," Naruto muttered as the two of them took the steps to the library. "I look nearly the same but their eyes aren't the same."

She stopped midway when she felt like someone was trying to shoot daggers at her with their eyes. Taking a deep breath, Naruto twisted her body around and groaned when she realised that Sakura and Ino had caught sight of them. They were going to try and kill her because she was so close to their idol.

Wait…

They didn't know she was Naruto.

"Hey Sasuke, you want to play a prank?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke, stopping the boy midway. The black-haired boy jerked his head and gave her a look that told her about how much he didn't like her words. "Sakura and Ino are behind us and they look like they want to murder me."

"And what does that have to do with your prank?" Sasuke asked slowly.

The blue-eyed girl smiled wickedly at her best friend. "Well I never try to stand too close to you during class because they would bother me if I get too touchy with you or anything really. Right now, they don't know that I'm Naruto and wouldn't it be nice to mess with them?"

"And why should I get involved with your fight with them?"

"Because it is fun," he opened his mouth to argue with her but the blond-haired girl slid her arm over his shoulder. She twisted her head and winked at the two girls, who glared at her. "C'mon when was the last time you had fun? I'm not counting about the games we play or our training. Pretty please! I just want to mess with them."

"But I will be the one that is going to pay for it!" He whispered as the two of them entered the library. "They are never going to leave me alone."

"I'm not asking for much _Sasuke-kun_ ," Naruto said his name loudly, grinning evily as she heard the growls of their classmates. He raised his eyebrow and the blonde shrugged her shoulder, before tilting her head backwards. Sasuke blinked before getting her message. He groaned."If they are going to follow us then let me have some fun."

"Nothing I say will stop you from doing this."

She laughed. "Oh, _Sasuke-kun_ , you know me so well! I can't believe we haven't done this before!"

"Why did I expect you to act bigger than them?" Sasuke whispered to himself as they made their way through the archives. Naruto laughed and smiled at her best friend, before flickering her eyes at their classmate. The two girls looked at her with so much envy that she almost felt sorry for them. Well, almost. The insult that they made of her appearance was not something that she was going to let go.

She would make them pay for their words.

"Because my dear Sasuke-kun, you think I'm perfect," she said, exaggerating her eyelashes. "Now let us go back to our _date!"_

She didn't need to turn her head around to know that the two girls were looking at her with fury and envy.

"How the hell did that witch landed him? She isn't that pretty! I bet she must have put some spell on him!" Sakura whispered to Ino as Sasuke sighed and gestured for her to begin finding information on her family members. Naruto felt her lips at her classmate's words. Spell? It seemed like any girl that got close to Sasuke was going to get hated.

Honestly, how the hell could she put a spell on the bastard? Did they really think Sasuke would be stupid enough to fall for something stupid? Then again, their small minds could never wrap around the idea that Sasuke wasn't interested in them.

She was going to have so much fun playing with those noisy girls.

* * *

 **Q: Who is the 3rd teammate?**

A: I am still debating on who should be the third teammate .

 **Q: Is Naruto going to become Kunoichi of the year?**

A: That is still up for debate but I would admit that the goal of the story is to develop Naruto to be realistically smarter and stronger.

 **Q: Will Naruto have a close relationship with Iruka?**

A: Yes and no. Yes because Naruto will have a close relationship with Iruka but it won't be like in the anime or manga since there is a ripple effect happening in the story.

* * *

 **A/N: I know it had been more than a year since I updated but I will try to update the next couple of chapters as soon as possible. I'm also sorry that this chapter isn't long but I tried my best to make it long enough. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and if Naruto seems out of character to you.**


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